


Catharsis

by oceaneyesharry



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5 Seconds of Summer - Freeform, 5SOS - Freeform, F/M, Love, Romance, Short Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-26 16:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2658557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceaneyesharry/pseuds/oceaneyesharry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>catharsis: [kuh-thahr-sis] noun </p>
<p>the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. one

aspyn really didn't want to go to her first guitar lesson. she'd rather sit in bed at home and write about things like way the rain sounded when it hit the window or the way the trees swayed with the wind or the way the stormy air smelled.

her mother had other ideas. 

"luke is a very sweet young man, and so talented," aspyn's mother insisted. "and he's around your age, maybe you can be friends."

so aspyn reluctantly agreed to show up, lugging her heavy guitar case to the car with a sigh. friends? with her guitar teacher? how weird would that be?

the drive to the small studio where her lessons would be held was full of chatter from her overly enthusiastic mother; she went on and on and on about how exciting the thought of a new friend was. aspyn said nothing, she only rolled her eyes and fixed her gaze out the window.

-

luke zoomed down the street in his fathers old car, rushing to get to the studio on time. he'd overslept and couldn't be late for the lesson he'd be teaching. 

he hadn't wanted to teach guitar, but his father had insisted.

"you need to make some money, son," he'd said. "and with talent like yours, you're sure to rack in some cash."

"why can't i just stick to playing gigs at parties?" luke had argued. "i can get money that way."

"i want you to get a proper job. playing gigs at parties isn't what i'd call a proper job," his father had replied. "just trust me, son. who knows? you might enjoy it."

so here luke was, clinging to the steering wheel with one hand and eating his sandwich as quickly as he could with the other.

so far, considering he was already late to his very first lesson, it didn't seem like the day was going to go well at all.


	2. two

aspyn was ticked, to say the least, that she'd arrived at the dreaded studio and luke wasn't even there yet. but maybe he'd forgotten about it and she could go home.

she set down her guitar case on a small, plush couch that was pushed up against the wall next to her, grabbed her phone out of her pocket, and typed up a message to her mother.

aspyn: he's late. i'm hungry.

mom: just give him a few minutes. i hear it's his first lesson.

aspyn plopped down on the couch next to her stupid guitar case, shoving it farther away from her in frustration before replying to her mother.

aspyn: ugh. whatever. i really don't want to be here.

mom: try and have fun, sweetie! i need to go. pick you up in an hour!

aspyn tossed her phone onto the couch beside her and ran her fingers through her hair, tugging slightly. she'd just gotten here and she already felt like tearing her hair out.

"where is he?" she thought.

a split second later, a tall, blond boy stumbled through the door, overwhelmed by his load: his guitar case, a plastic walmart bag, and a few pieces of paper.

aspyn didn't bother to help him with the door, she just sat watching him with her arms crossed over her chest. when he finally managed to set everything down, he gave her an apologetic smile.

aspyn then noticed his lip ring, along with his shockingly blue eyes. he held out a hand for her to shake.

"i'm luke hemmings."

-

luke's very first thought concerning the girl sitting on the couch before him was that she was very beautiful. 

her hair was tousled as if she'd recently run her fingers through it, and her eyes were a gorgeous green. a pout was set on her full, pink lips, and although it seemed she was trying to express her irritation, the only thing she managed to do was look adorable. in luke's opinion anyway.

he flashed her an apologetic smile and held out a hand for her to shake.

"i'm luke hemmings," he said.

the girl didn't shake his hand, but only frowned harder and muttered something under her breath.

"pardon?" luke inquired.

"i'm aspyn," the girl replied irritably. "and if it's quite all right with you, i'd like to get this stupid lesson over with."

luke frowned, a bit flustered. 

"of course she's ticked," he thought. "i am late, after all."

he cleared his throat. "are you hungry?" he asked. he grabbed the plastic walmart bag he'd set beside the couch and took out a few cans of root beer and a container of cookies.

aspyn fixed her eyes on the food, biting her lip. "no, not particularly."

but she was hungry. luke could just tell. he was good at reading people. aspyn was beautiful, ticked, and hungry.

"i think you are," he told her. he cleared his throat again. "i baked the cookies myself. i didn't make the root beer, though."

aspyn gave him a look, but accepted the root beer and cookies he offered her anyway.

luke smiled knowingly and took his guitar out of his case, sitting down on the couch to tune it.

"these cookies are disgusting," aspyn said, pretending to gag.

but luke knew she was only saying that. he also knew that his cookies were delicious, because it was his mother's recipe, and his mother had been an amazing cook.

he chuckled softly and continued to tune his guitar. he had decided that he liked aspyn, and that maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. three

"this root beer isn't very cold," aspyn complained, her eyes fixed on the floor.

luke laughed, adding to aspyn's irritation. what was so funny about room temperature root beer?

"what's so funny?" she demanded. "it's better when it's cold. you should've bought some ice."

"you're right," luke laughed harder. "it isn't cold. it's..." he looked up at her. "it's lukewarm."

aspyn almost spit out her root beer. she swallowed quickly, coughed, and made a noise that might've been a laugh.

luke smiled at her. "boy, that's a knee slapper."

aspyn, who was trying to hide a smile of her own, said, "you're an idiot."

luke laughed again. he had a nice laugh, aspyn had decided. "i know," he assured her.

-

luke mentally congratulated himself for making aspyn laugh. he'd used that joke a million times, and aspyn's reaction had to be the best one he'd ever gotten.

"so, should we get started?" he asked, tossing his empty root beer can in the trash can by the couch.

aspyn regained her composure quickly, cleared her throat, and said, "i guess. if you want."

she took her guitar out of her case, slung the strap over her shoulder, and looked at him expectantly.

luke placed a sheet of music on his knee and played a simple melody on his guitar before turning to show aspyn the basics.

"this is a c chord," he began, showing her where he'd placed his fingers and strumming his guitar. "you try."

he adjusted the paper on his leg so she could see it better. "the finger placements are on there, too," he informed her, gesturing to the paper.

aspyn tried her best to do as luke instructed her for the next thirty minutes, but luke could tell she was getting frustrated and suggested they take a break.

"do you want another cookie?" he asked, putting away his guitar.

"as long as i don't have to take anymore of your lukewarm root beer," aspyn said.

"okay, i'll spare you from lukewarm drinks from now on," luke replied, handing her another cookie.

"so," he said. "my dad uses the studio most days, so you're welcome to come to my house for lessons when the studio isn't free."

aspyn nodded. "okay."

luke swallowed. "do you want my number? so i you can text me if you need any help? or if you maybe wanna hang out? not like a date or anything, but-"

"whoa there," aspyn held up a hand to stop him. "okay, sure. here." she handed him her phone. "put your number in."

he did, then he texted himself so he had his number, too, then handed her phone back to her.

"awesome," he said, giving her a smile. "do you need a ride home?"

"uh, no," aspyn said. "my mom is coming to get me, and i'd rather not get in the car with a random stranger anyway."

"hey," luke protested. "i shared cookies with you. i'm not a random stranger."

aspyn held back a laugh. "okay, you're an acquaintance." she looked out the window. "my mom's here."

"okay, it was nice meeting you." luke went in for a hug, then changed his mind, deciding it was stupid hugging her if he was only "an acquaintance" to her. he scratched the back if his neck. "text me...whenever."

"yeah. i will. bye." she waved and exited the studio, closing the door behind her.


	4. four

luke: you did good today. :)

aspyn unlocked her phone to reply to luke's text.

aspyn: yeah, right. i'm pretty sure your ears were bleeding.

luke: nah, that's not true. don't be so hard on yourself. no one picks it up on their first day.

aspyn: whatever.

she set down her phone and turned off her light. it was already past midnight and she was exhausted and ready for bed.

she lay down, adjusted her blankets so she was comfortable, closed her eyes, and...

her phone rang.

she groaned and squinted at her phone screen to see who was calling. it was luke.

with a roll of her eyes, she pushed the answer button and placed the phone against her ear.

"yeah?" she answered.

"hey," luke said. "i just wanted to make sure you weren't still being hard on yourself."

she sighed. this boy was persistent, it would seem.

"actually, i was about to go to sleep," she informed him.

"oh, okay. well that's good. i meant what i said, you know," he told her.

"yeah, yeah," she said.

a few moments of silence, and then he said, "do you wanna go out for coffee with me tomorrow? not like a date of course. i'm only an acquaintance, after all." he chuckled nervously.

aspyn considered for a moment, then agreed. it wasn't very often that she'd pass up an opportunity to get coffee. "sure. can i go to sleep now?"

"yeah, of course," he replied. "goodnight."

"night," aspyn said, then ended the call.

-

luke was exhausted. right after his lesson with aspyn, he'd gone straight to a gig at his friend's house. he'd thrown a huge party and luke couldn't remember the last time he'd played for that many people. they'd kept begging for more and he couldn't say no.

so now, here he was, worn out, his hair tousled and his throat sore from all the singing he'd done. and on top of that, he couldn't stop thinking about aspyn.

had he asked her to hang out too soon? they'd only known each other for a few hours. was he being too obvious? should he tell her he liked her?

no, it'd sound stupid. how could he love someone he hardly knew?

but he really did love her. he loved how stubborn she was, how green her eyes were, full and pink her lips were. he loved her smile, and her voice, and her laugh. he loved everything about her.

luke sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. he looked at his short conversation with aspyn again and again, wondering whether or not he should say anything else before he went to sleep.

finally deciding against it, he changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, turned off the light, lay down, and went to sleep.


	5. five

v. 

luke had texted aspyn several times, filling her in on when he was able to pick her up and asking her which coffee place in town she preferred and reminding her to smile.

she texted back to give him her address, informing him that she liked starbucks best, and telling him that maybe she didn't feel like smiling, and did he ever think of that?

aspyn was a little annoyed, but also quite amused. she did smile at what the flustered blond boy had to say and she found herself looking forward to getting coffee with him.

she stood in front of her mirror, applying a bit of lip gloss and checking her hair, making sure everything was in place for going out. luke would be here any minute now.

she quickly grabbed her purse and slipped on her favorite pair of flats before yelling goodbye through he house at her mum and stepping outside to wait.

she checked her phone to see what time it was. luke had told her he'd be there at 12:30. it was 12:29.

a few minutes passed and luke hadn't shown up. around 12:50, aspyn rolled her eyes. he was late again, for a date that he'd set up himself. 

"i'm going to have to get used to this," she thought in regards to his tardiness. 

finally, at 12:55, he pulled into her driveway. luke got out of the car to greet her with a small wave before opening the passenger door for her.

she muttered a thank you and got in, buckling her seatbelt as luke returned to his own seat. 

"you're way late," she informed him with a huff. "again."

flustered, luke ran his fingers through his hair. "i know, i'm sorry," he apologized.

"coffee is on you, right?" aspyn said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as luke pulled out of her driveway.

"of course. it's the least i can do," he replied. after clearing his throat, he said, "you look lovely, by the way."

hearing this, aspyn looked at him. "thanks," she mumbled, turning to hide the slight blush on her cheeks.

-

luke bought aspyn a coffee and a muffin to make up for his tardiness. he really was sorry, and a little embarrassed. he'd failed to show up on time twice now and he intended not to do so again.

"so, how are you?" he asked aspyn as he stirred sugar into his coffee.

aspyn took a sip of her own coffee before answering. "i'm okay, what about you?"

"i'm tired. i was up late last night," luke explained.

"oh yeah?" aspyn raised her eyebrows. "doing what?"

luke smiled at her; he was always happy to talk about doing what he loved. "playing a gig at my friends party."

she nodded. "that's pretty cool."

"yeah," he agreed. "i love it. what about you? what were you doing up so late last night?"

"i was writing," aspyn told him, wrapping her fingers around her warm coffee cup.

"what kinds of thins were you writing?" luke asked her, curious.

"poems," she answered, a proud smile on her own face.

"that's so cool," luke complimented. "i do a little writing myself."

"do you?" 

"yep. i've written a few songs."

she nodded again. "that's cool."

"yeah."

aspyn took another sip of her coffee and luke watched her, admiring her.

she put her cup down and gave him a look. "why are you staring? it's rude."

flustered by her sudden change of mood, luke replied, "i dunno. you're just...very pretty."

luke wanted to kiss her right then, but he was pretty sure she hated him. maybe, if he kept trying to make her happy, she'd eventually want to kiss him, too.


End file.
